Years active 2012 (2012)–present Website www.ournameismagic.com | Labels Latium
Sony
RCA Origin Toronto, Canada (2012) | |
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Albums Don't Kill the Magic, Primary Colours, ADHD Genres Reggae fusion, Pop music, Reggae rock Members Nasri, Ben Spivak, Mark Pellizzer, Alex Tanas Profiles | ||
Magic!, originally stylized as MAGIC!, is a Canadian reggae fusion band based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The group is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist and producer Nasri Atweh, guitarist Mark "Pelli" Pellizzer, bass guitarist Ben Spivak, and percussionist Alex Tanas. Active since 2012, the band is signed with Latium, Sony, and RCA Records, releasing their debut studio album Don't Kill the Magic in 2014 and their second studio album Primary Colours in 2016. They are most prominently known for their hit single "Rude", which charted at No. 1 in several countries worldwide.
Contents
- Early years
- 201315 Dont Kill the Magic
- 2016present Primary Colours
- Collaborations
- Band members
- Other appearances
- Songs
- References
The band is heavily inspired by the musical groups The Police and Bob Marley and the Wailers. They are known for having a signature reggae-influenced pop sound.
Early years
All members of the band are originally from the Toronto area of Canada. The lead singer of MAGIC!, Nasri, had worked with and written songs for different pop acts prior to the start of the band, mainly alongside Adam Messinger, together known as The Messengers. He met Mark Pellizzer in the studio and within a week they wrote the song "Don't Judge Me" for Chris Brown. Nasri described the chemistry between himself and Pellizzer as "different than writing chemistry, it was more artistic." A few weeks later, while Mark was playing a reggae tune on the guitar, Nasri suggested starting a band like "modern-day Police."
Next to join the band was Alex Tanas. He and Mark Pellizzer knew each other, since they both had been members of the Justin Nozuka band for several years.
Prior to joining MAGIC!, Ben Spivak had been playing with the Toronto-based Julian Taylor Band, releasing Never Gonna Give You Up in 2012. Julian Taylor and Jeremy Elliot had enjoyed success playing in Staggered Crossing with "Further Again" hitting #6 in 2001 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
2013–15: Don't Kill the Magic
Magic!'s debut single "Rude" was released on October 12, 2013. The song peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100 and also proved a great international success, topping the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom and peaking within the top ten of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.
"Don't Kill the Magic" was released as the second single from the album on April 4, 2014, peaking at number twenty-two on the Canadian Hot 100 and fifty-three in Australia.
The band released their debut album Don't Kill the Magic on June 30, 2014. The album peaked to number 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart and number 6 on the Billboard 200.
On September 2, 2014 it was announced that MAGIC! would be one of the opening acts for Maroon 5 on their 2015 world tour in North America and Europe.
On October 7, 2014 "Let Your Hair Down" was issued to contemporary hit radio by RCA Records as the third single from the album (the second to be released in the US). It peaked at number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. The official music video, directed by David Rousseau, was published online on October 31, 2014.
Magic! was among the performers at the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards held on November 20, 2014. Marc Anthony joined the band on stage for a special performance of "Rude".
On November 23, 2014 Wyclef Jean and Magic! performed together at the 42nd American Music Awards.
On December 31, 2014, MAGIC! performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve at Times Square in New York City. They wore matching yellow suits and stood with Taylor Swift and Ryan Seacrest as the ball dropped.
From February until June 2015, MAGIC! opened for Maroon 5 in North America and Europe on their Maroon 5 World Tour 2015. The band also had additional solo gigs.
In March 2015, MAGIC! won two Juno Awards - for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Single of the Year, out of five nominations. Adam Messinger won the Juno Award for Producer of the Year.
In April 2015, "No Way No" was released as a single. It peaked at number 23 in Canada. The official video had been uploaded on YouTube since March 2, 2015.
On June 13, 2015 the band was part of the line-up at the Pinkpop Festival.
On June 22, 2015, MAGIC! was awarded the prestigious International Achievement Award by SOCAN at the 2015 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.
On July 1, 2015, MAGIC! performed at Canada Day in Ottawa, and later performed at the Coca-Cola Stage at the Calgary Stampede on July 12, 2015.
On July 17, 2015 MAGIC! released a new single, "#SundayFunday", this ended up being a non-album single.
2016–present: Primary Colours
On March 25, 2016 MAGIC! released their first single off of their second album Primary Colours, called "Lay You Down Easy", this was a collaboration with Sean Paul
On the evening of June 18, 2016, MAGIC! released their second single off of "Primary Colours" called "Red Dress". The song was first premiered on Apple's radio station Beats1. The band first heard the song premiered as they were broadcasting a Facebook live video to their fans.
On the morning of June 20, 2016 MAGIC! was part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's #LiveUnlimited, they broadcast a live rehearsal video to Facebook to raise money for MDA.
The album "Primary Colours" was released on July 1, 2016.
On July 2, MAGIC! released a special version of their song "No Regrets" in memory of the victims of the shooting on June 12, 2016 at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Collaborations
MAGIC! is featured on Shakira's "Cut Me Deep", a track from her self-titled album, released in March 2014 and on a track on One Love, One Rhythm, the official 2014 FIFA World Cup album titled "This Is Our Time (Agora é a Nossa Hora)" released in April. They are also featured on Sun Goes Down, a track on David Guetta's album Listen, which also features Sonny Wilson on the hook, as well as production from Showtek. MAGIC! collaborated with Sean Paul on "Lay You Down Easy" released in March 2016
Band members
Other appearances
Songs
RudeDon't Kill the Magic · 2014
Lay You Down EasyPrimary Colours · 2016
Let Your Hair DownDon't Kill the Magic · 2014